Manchester City’s players departed for Saturday afternoon’s FA Cup semi-final from, where else, but Stockport as around 90,000 Reds and Blues make their way down the M6 for the 159th derby. It could be the first of three trips to Wembley for Sir Alex Ferguson’s team over the next six weeks, with both the cup final and Champions League final also held in north London.
It is this experience – of the big occasion at Wembley – that is key to winning Saturday’s match, according to Ferguson, with the Manchester United manager predicting semi-final nerves could decide the match in the Reds’ favour. In a week when Nemanja Vidic labelled City as “obsessed” with winning a trophy, the United manager expects his players’ mental toughness to come to the fore.
“I don’t know the mental side of any of their players, because I’ve not worked with any of them apart from Tevez of course,” Ferguson said on Friday.
“Only Roberto [Mancini] will know that, he’ll know his players much better. But it’s very difficult to block out the occasion, simply because sometimes it overrides everything else. And Wembley is an occasion stadium. When you go there it’s for an important reason, and that can affect some players. I don’t think there’s any doubt about that. It’s a fact.
“I know my own players and they’ve obviously been used to big game situations many times, so we don’t have to conquer that. I have a group of players who are confident going into games, their attitude is great and I couldn’t ask for a better situation than I’ve got.
“The players are in form and the squad is getting stronger with players back [from injury]. It wouldn’t matter which game we were going into, I’d believe in these players. At the moment they’ve got a great momentum about them, which is a fantastic thing to have at this stage of the season.”
However, the United manager has a crucial decision to make on his side’s line-up, with two intense games against Chelsea in the past 10 days and a busy programme coming up. Ferguson is fortunate that Wayne Rooney aside – the striker is suspended for swearing during the Reds’ victory over West Ham United a fortnight ago – he can call upon an almost fully fit squad.
The 69-year-old Scot will recall Dimitar Berbatov to an attacking United line-up and Ferguson says he has some sympathy for the Bulgarian, the Premier League’s top goalscorer, who has spent much of the past two months on the bench. Javier Hernández’ form has seemingly pushed Berbatov to the periphery, not for the first time in the 30-year-old’s time at Old Trafford.
“It’s unfortunate for Dimitar because he’s a fantastic player, but the reasons are obvious,” the United manager said.
“The emergence of Hernández in the last couple of months has been startling. He’s improving all the time, he’s getting stronger and it’s very difficult to leave a player out when he hits that kind of form.
“He’s fantastic, with a natural instinct to move about the box. There have been a few top strikers who’ve had that quality. Ole [Gunnar Solksjaer] was one, always being in space in the box, and having a natural instinct to do that. [Gary] Lineker probably never scored a good goal in his life. It would always come off his chest, his shin or he would get a rebound off the goalkeeper. But he was always in really good areas, and the boy Hernández is the same.”
Meanwhile, Rafael da Silva, Antonio Valencia and Paul Scholes are also in contention for a recall to the United side, with 37-year-old Ryan Giggs due a well-earned rest. Darren Fletcher is still absence with a mystery virus, although the Scot began training this week, while Owen Hargreaves will miss the rest of the campaign with a shoulder injury.
However, City manager Roberto Mancini must do without Carlos Tevez, the former United forward who is out with a hamstring strain. The Italian is likely to deploy £27 million striker Edin Džeko, supported by Yaya Touré, the Ivorian midfielder who has been used in a more attacking role at City. Whether Mancini liberates his side from the stultifying tactics deployed in the last two Manchester derbies is another matter altogether.
Yet, while City’s obsession with United defines the club, Red legend Scholes says the Blue side of Manchester is a rival in geographical terms only. He is surely right – and until City manages to win a first trophy in 35 years few Reds will disagree. Indeed, with Abu Dhabi’s money now fueling the Eastland’s transfer market spending spree, any silverware claimed in the coming years is rendered meaningless in the face of the club’s financial doping.
“When they are fourth or fifth [in the league], I don’t think they can be classed as a main rival,” said Scholes.
“Our main rivals are obviously Arsenal and Chelsea. I think City are just a rival because of where they are [geographically] and Liverpool the same.
“It’s an FA Cup semi-final at Wembley, it’s massive, there will be 30,000 fans from each side… it’s the biggest game we’ve had against City for a while. Whoever loses will be devastated. I remember the 5-1 defeat in 1989 and Andy Hinchcliffe scoring that goal. It’s painful. I can also remember going to Maine Road and losing 3-1 [in 2002] and it’s horrible. You hate losing against anybody, but City? It’s bad.”
Thousands of Reds at Wembley today will agree; defeat a result nobody is countenancing.
Scholes scored a last-minute winner at Eastlands last season to the joy of Reds everywhere – it’s a goal the ginger maestro describes as “one of the best things I have ever done”. Another Fergie-time winner for the Reds on Saturday will send one half of Manchester home happy; the other, presumably back to Stockport, will remain forever in United’s shadow.
Opposition
City – 433 – Hart; Richards, Kompany, Lescott, Kolarov; de Jong, Barry, Touré; Silva, Dzeko, Ballotelli. Subs from: Boyata, Milner, Johnson, Taylor, Zabaleta, McGivern, Wright-Phillips, Vieira.
United
United – 442 – van der Sar; Rafael, Vidic, Smalling, Evra; Valencia, Carrick, Scholes, Park; Berbatov, Hernandez. Subs from: Kuszczak, Owen, Bébé, Fabio, Park, Obertan, Gibson, Nani, Anderson, Ferdinand, Giggs.
Officials
Referee: Mike Dean (Wirral)
Assistant referees: Mike Mullarkey and Peter Kirkup
Fourth official: Chris Foy
Form
United – WWWWWW
City – LWWLWL
Wobbly knee time kickin in…ffs I’m like a fookin teen on his first date…
I really really want United to win the FA cup. I still have the mental scars from the Arsenal and Chelsea final defeats. It’s a sad situation now though considering United’s current position that if they only came away with the FA Cup this year the season would go down as a huge failure.
The FA cup used to be one of my favourite days of the year if United were in the final. Now the league isn’t even finished by the time it is played. Of course I would choose either the League or Champions but it’s sad to see how low the FA cup has fallen.
I would like to see United win at least 3-0. A good result will give Real Madrid and Barcelona something to think about because these teams feel they are so superior to the English Premier teams. But on the day,anyone can win. Barcelona maybe already over confident that they will win the Champions league and this maybe their downfall. Man City have a team of good players but the way we play together as a team will destroy them.
they will come flying out of the blocks no doubt i’m sure
mancini’s conservatism over the past 2 seasons will be put aside for this game as it’s his job on the line and the sheikhs will want that italian ass on toast if he fails to deliver silverware this season
so we shall need to watch united play on the counter and hope rooney’s absence won’t be a game changer…
Love the phrase financial doping!! Came up quite a few times in the government football enquiry.
You’re weird
I don’t think beating City in the FA Cup will give Madrid or Barca sleepless nights
“Fucking hell, United beat City, and they had the mighty Milner, Barry & Johnson on the pitch”
FFS
Hahah, awesome reply.
Yes, but its a cup game and even if we won 6-0, it would not give them sleepless nights but they will be more cautious in their approach to the game when it comes to the Champions league. Remember, United were looking pretty shakey in the earlier part of the season, but their game has picked up and they are beginning to look like a team with a mission. But first, lets get past City, then Newcastle.
just over an hour before it kicks off
getting the jitters ffs
not long till we see the teams and the moaning commences
no giggs
not even on the bench
not sure i can quite work that 1 out unless he has a niggle
i need info…..
just heard it on radio 5
I need some downers
fucks your damage?
traffic is a mare too
wtf did they expect? M1 closed and wembley gridlocked
fucked up idea holding the semis in north west london
Van der Sar, O’Shea, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Park, Scholes, Carrick, Valencia, Berbatov, Nani.
good team i think
Man Utd: Van der Sar, O’Shea, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Park, Scholes, Carrick, Valencia, Berbatov, Nani.
anyone know the bench yet?
I don’t understand why everyone’s so surprised at Giggsy’s omission, he’s been playing shit-loads lately, and he is a 37-year old, even if it is easy to forget sometimes the way he plays. Probably rested for the Newcastle game on Tuesday so there’s at least one pair of fresh, experienced legs in case the City game today takes it out of some of the players.
Most important question. Who’s the ref? David Bernstein?
agreed spud but he should have been a sub if nothing else
Mike Dean, foy 4th official
Bench: Kuszczak, Owen, Anderson, Smalling, Hernandez, Fabio, Gibson
happy enough with team.. and theirs. still shitting it
ahhhhh
rio’s a dad again…
Strong 11 from Fergie
City’s 11 looks flat without Tevez
Balotelli, Silva & Johnson are the only real creative threats
come on berba
do ur stuff this afternoon
just seen a clip of the massive’s last trophy win
surprised it was in colour tbh
theme of the big match in the background…brian moore commentary…
joe hart covered in zits
u’d think with all that money he earns, he could afford some zit cream
That’s a very strong team. I was expecting Ferdinand to be rested, given that we have Newcastle in mid week.
have the massive cunts got “FA cup semi finalists 2011” emblazened on their tops today?
Getting nervous now
Need a piss AND a shit FFS
come on you reds
valencia united 2-1 75/1 5er on it..
got a bet up there.. im on a roll
Mike Dean is the referee, not the 4th official.
1 goal to City.
Another chance for England to showcase it’s awesome refereeing.
foy is the 4th official you twat
Did I ask you who the 4th official was? Why confuse me? It’s not like I know all the referees in the League by their last names.
lescott is one star trek looking cunt… hope berba rapes him today
David Gill’s daughter is HAWT.
ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh what a save.. what a miss
OMG Berbatov …
berbs
unlucky
Gotta score there Berbs… ffs…
stick 2 up front
these cunts will fold
Should have scored FFS
Impressed with the way we sprang into life
Caught City on their arses
Good afternoon folks!
We’ll stuff ’em, looks ok. Hopefully Berba will manage his nerves. BELIEVE
We’re cranking it up and City are reverting to type…
Pretty clear that most of the fans at the stadium are NOT blue.
Green and Gold.
You gotta be kidding me!!! That lump of idiot should be scoring there. I am so annoyed here.
How many shots of Rooney & Fergie do we need FFS
Fuck off with your shit subplot
it was easy…better make up for it
shit them
City coming into it now…
losing our way?
Decent game, this.
Nah, not losing our way – they’re a good team FFS
They’re gonna have spells
We need to finish this half strong and nick one before half time
time to get the pea warmed up
Terrible ball from O’Shea set up that chance
fuck
close by that kompany cock
this is mental now… wise up ffs
Hmm, we lack speed.
And Scholes does not see any ball.
han,
you better hope that Berbatov wins this match for us today. Or that we do not rue his missed chances.
can no one take a fucking corner ffs
unlike u cal, i know he will
stop fucking knocking him – he’s not related to neville, scholes or giggs
Softest touch in the league, hmm
Oh stop it… all players stuff up a siitter, once in a while.
they are there to be taken but 1 up front doesnt help
stick the pea on to partner berbs and the goals will flow
I can see this going to extra time
What do you mean knock him? In a team in which O’Shea is playing he is the only off the pace and he has missed our best chances!! I should praise him? Then he does THAT his thing again: takes the ball for too long and too close to a team mate(Nani) and proceeds to lose it and City break on us. The guy is an irritant. By the way, leave G Nev out of this. The man has done the great thing and retired.
By the way, Scholes is playing very well. He has to as he will finish the game with no Fletcher or Giggs on the bench.
And allow City to dominate the midfield with their three of Barry, De Jong and Toure? That will not be clever at all.
I have to agree with Cal, actually, re Berbatov’s performance in that first half. 2 clearcut chances to put us in the lead. He cannot complain about being left out of the team if he doesn’t perform in games like this.
To be fair, it’s not just him. Nani isn’t playing all that well and he can be rather selfish at times.
For all our possession, we’re playing far too bloody cautiously and slowly. It’s all far too pedestrian and it’s allowed City to get into the game.
no don’t praise him as i know its not in you to do that
don’t knock him either – at least he was in the right place
and no – i’m not going to have a war of words with you on the merits of berbs playing style – u seem to revel in all things anti the guy
He can come off for pea after 60 mins – fatiuge being the only reason to substitute him.
i really hope not – unless of course we beat them
Aren’t they dominating midfield?
The problem is that no one is pressing them; they start attacks for free.
i’d bring Hernandez for Scholes.
han,
I am not getting into any war with you at all. Sorry if it appears so. For a manchester united player I am stunned that he so irritates me. He so wants everything done at his pace and liking. Cantona was fast and aggressive and so was able to dictate games. I watch him drop deep to pick up balls and am wondering: “what the heck are you doing there; who is up top”?!
I just hope we do not rue those misses.
no probs cal
lets get a win now
The key is to improve the movement between Park and Nani, we need to get the latter switching positions with Park and passing more incisively. Nani’s a terrific player, but still a poor decision-maker and too selfish. If we have them moving about around Berba, that will drag the Shitty defenders out of position and open up spaces for them to run onto Berba’s passes.
Otherwise, putting on Hernandez is the only obvious way to change things, although Berba can’t support in midfield like Rooney can. Perhaps replacing Scholes with Anderson might give us more movement and forward momentum, I don’t think Scholes is playing a blinder today so far anyway, although he’s never far from a game-changing pass.
We’re gonna lose this…get Sweet Pea on ffs
fuck sake berbs try and win it
We don’t have the midfield for it
Something seems to be wrong with Valencia. He let one ball dribble out, and then was sleeping while Kolorov moved forward. I wonder if that rough tackle in the first half has made him worried about his ankle, it’s not so long ago we thought he wouldn’t play again this season with that ankle.
Fuck!
come on united
fs
back to the usual then michael
what a shit goal to give away
come on united
Carrick… cunt isn’t enough
ffs call yourself a Pro, Carrick?
keystone cops defending
do it the united way now… come on reds
City up for it now
Made the job 10 times harder
Next goal is all important
cant watch this
Carrick’s back!! ffs
Nothing up front, nothing in the middle
Being out fought
get him off anderson on.. bungled straight into the boot of a car and head to the river
To me it just looks like we’re having a bad day, a bit of tiredness after a busy schedule, and we’ve met a team with a lot of quality players with a lot to fight for, in theory. If we’d put away one of those early chances, City would have dropped their heads, but now they’re thinking they can actually do something here.
At least he’s playing the game, unlike a certain celebrity.
Now it is essential to keep Scholes on the pitch.
The guys are losing their heads.
Come on United
Yeah Carrick fucked up, but not one person here mentions that Rio and VDS both fucked up first to put him in that situation, good example of the unfair treatment Carrick gets.
Toure is a fuckin monster…
what the fuck!!!!
We need some muscle in midfield because this is embarrassing
Bring Ando on
It’s gonna be too late to make changes soon
we are all over the shop
we are in a complete disarray
ffs Berbs defending
Yeah, always liked him as a player.
effing bus
Nice bit of skill from Scholes then
442??? we are getting tanked in mf as it is
Good strike
off the fucking bar
at last..cmon sweet pea
suppose we need to change it.. unlucky nani
Berbatov is an irritating twat
he should be brazilian
Berba off, Ando on. I’m fucking tired of looking at Berba’s glum mug. He doesn’t half respond poorly to having his position in the starting 11 challenged, I’ve never seen him respond to being benched by coming out fighting.
He’s not that type of player though, is he. He’s not a fighter. We knew that when we signed him. You should have known that.
He’s playing like he always does
Mike Dean you fucking cunt that wasn’t a red
It was mistimed, unintentional
Red seems harsh. Oh well.
gutted
Two major fuck ups from midfield have cost us
Carrick’s pass and now Scholes’ sending off
Come on United, a goal down, a man down.. we can still fuckin do them
Carrick you useless lump of dog shit run you bastard!
15 mins
come on reds
went down to 10 against arsenal in 99 didnt we?
unlucky carrick
Carrick no conviction in the shot
I don’t see anything to make me hope we’ll get back into this.
may as well go for broke in the last 10 mins
fucked if we do
definitely fucked if we dont
I always thought this would be a dreary 1-0, just a question of which team got the goal.
ffs this team is headless and fookin gormless
some fuckin cunt step up
come on united
City fans should be concerned at how their team has settled for 1-0
id settle for 1-0
Evra you fucking tool, why the fuck would shoot from that fucking angle
smash it in the area ffs evra
i blame carrick and rooney
Us handing the goal to City on a platter was the only way this sorry bunch was going to score. They really are pathetic going forward.
i feel like fucking smashing the tv, come on you fuckin cunts
wake up and believe
Lol look at the City cunts, they’re almost having heartattacks
Someone should tell them there is no trophy at the end of this game
Ando showing some strength and speed then
Fuck it.
FUCK IT! FUCK IT! FUCK IT!
i absolutely despise Berbatov and Carrick
i absolutely hate the fact that a fucking football match means so much to me
It hurts.
of course it fucking hurts
need to keep the heads up for tuesday nite
gutted
Out-played and out-fought in midfield once again
In the second half it looked like a typical away performance
Carrick is so fucking one dimensional. He’s good at the calm sweeper role, but when he’s pressed, he’s shite, as was proven when he gave the ball away. When he’s asked to play it quicker, forward, provide more oomph, he’s shite.
Berba should have scored that sitter, and for that, he’s a cunt
Bit of perspective though, NINETEEN
they need a good ball smashing after that.. carrick scholes were the main cause. park and berb were shite. how the fuck were we not 1 up after 15 mins
Yes, I blame Carrick.
Probleme?
Work is going to be fucking awful on Monday.
That was a pretty dire performance alright. We deserved nothing from the game. If we somehow get to the Champions League final, we will be raped against a side like Barcelona if we pass the ball like that.
Even when we went 1-0 down, in fact even before the goal, there was absolutely no urgency whatsoever. It was abysmal.
Anderson was the only player who can hold his head up high and he came on when the game was already lost.
Oh, and England and their referees. LOL
Scholes banned for 3 matches.
Commentary was fucking pathetic. Martin Tyler has finally gone senile. So was that twat with him.
Now on to some real football. El Clasico.
Well hopefully Scholes retires and does not play one more game for the rest of this season. And secondly, I will not abide anyone who even tries to give me those ridiculous stats about Dimitar berbatov. Absolutely shocking player who does not deserve to wear our hallowed Red Shirt. Proper semen stain he is.
They scored and we could so easily have been able to get back if we had eleven men and if we had a no 9 who actually gives a damn. I really hate the guy.
Nothing that Carrick and Berbatov are going to do in future is going to redeem them. They are the sort of plague United should have stayed away from. Fucking fair weather prima donnas with absolutely no balls. utter utter cunts.
come on ffs
we have been here before 2 yrs ago remember going out to pens
feel like shit but the lack of rooney up front cost us simple
the fucking fa knew that
scholes card was a red 99/100 so can’t complain too much about that
and with 10 men, played better than with 11
citeh cunts didnt deserve to win but this will make united stronger
Cal
That Red for Schollsy was fookin harsh, both players had their studs showing, but, oh no it’s Schollsy’s fault again.
Worst performance of the season. That was really, really dreadful. City were battered for 20-25 mins, rode it out and then took control. We were never in it after that. I can’t really say any more…
Carrick was unlucky. End of. Scholes red card was mindless. However, if we had taken the lead we would have seen it through. Easily.
Subs came on far too late in the day. We were getting battered in midfield but Fergie failed to make the changes in time.
And the cunts in FA, job well done. Cunts. Screwed us before the game and screwed us during the game. Hope we finish the season and Fergie goes on an epic rant naming and shaming every shite ref in the league. That was a 50-50 ball you fucking imbecile. both their foot where high and he was in a fucking perfect position to see it. A goal fucking down and would you expect a player to play it safe in a 50-50 situation. Incompetent idiots
at least rio takes over from keane stepping into bollocktelli at the end
Carrick was unlucky? Like he was against Barcelona? Or against Bayern Munich?
He’s one of the sloppiest fuckers in the team after Evra.
When he’s put under pressure, he’s shite
It was not harsh. Not at all. He went with his studs smack into the thigh of the excellent Zabaleta and left a deep gash there. His TENTH red card of his career. So please get right lost with these pathetic excuses for moronic behaviour. He was playing well but for someone of such experience to drop his team in it is not clever and it is also not clever to try and excuse it.
Those misses in the first half cost us this match. I hope Berbatov never plays a game for us again.
United played as if they were not interested in this game. Desire and will to win was not there.
carrick was unlucky i agree
scholes was defi red
berbs should have scored but didnt
looked tired especially 2nd half but the only consolation is that anderson played well and looked up for it when he came on
SAF should look at that team and realise there was a lack of spark which giggs usually creates
cal
if berbs never plays for us again then who in the current team do u want to step up on tuesday nite???????
ffs
Definitely not a red. A yellow but definitely not a straight red
Rooney will be back on Tuesday. He and Hernandez can put Newcastle to the sword. Carrick must play too. Alongside Anderson and we should be fine.
What the fuck are you talking about?
Both players went for the ball in exactly the same way… exactly… both had their foot thigh high and studs first… the only difference, Zabaletta got there first.
Yellow card for being late… but that’s it.
and if it had been the other way – would you still say it was a yellow?
fffuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuccccccccccccckkkkkkkkkkkkkkk
How can anyone defend carrick is beyond me. VDS and Rio made their first mistake in a long time. O’Shea gets it under control, gives it to Carrick and he still manages to find a way to mess it up.
What are you smoking man? Because a lot of the city fans will be wanting to do that tonight.
So what was Carragher’s challenge then, Alf? It doesn’t matter whether both players were challenging for the ball. If we go by that logic, Evans shouldn’t have been sent off the other week.
Clear red in my opinion. Foot was high and he’s caught the player. Would be saying the same if that happened to one of ours.
I’d be surprised if this isn’t Scholesy’s last season.
Alf,
some of you are incredible. At first I thought it was going to be a yellow. However, when they showed it again and I saw the INTENT in Scholes movement and the fact that he actually went studs IN ON Zabaleta I feared the worst. The ref was bold and brave to make the right call. What is so annoying is that he does it time and time again. And deliberately too. He was never going to beat Zabaleta to that bouncing ball so with his experience, if he did not mean to ‘do’ his opponent he should have kept his foot down.
Like I keep saying, that is actually my main pain. My pain is that we should never have been chasing this game. We played very well and I did not think we deserved to lose that way. Our keeper has made one proper save all game while Hart has kept them in the game.
Holy shit. It’s a red for TWO FEET off the ground. Not one. How anyone can defend the referee is beyond me.
What are all of you SMOKING?
Defo red card. Scholes was nowhere in midfield and gets frustrated and either does a stupid tackle or a hand ball or some other out there shite.
Why SAF did not change it earlier i will never know.
Anyhow other than the first 20-25mins where we dominated, City deserved to win.
Citeh may now create a banner counting the years we missed on FA Cup.
7->8, afair?
it really really hurts
Carrick can fuck off. He’s back to his shite old self. Get that cunt Fletcher into the side sharpish to accompany Anderson.
He has that dozy nature about him. I wasn’t surprised to see him fuck up today. It wasn’t just the goal. His all round performance was completely bollockless.
Oh stop talking shit.
Well said Sheesh
Just1n..where have you been, hunting Zulu meat in the jungle again? cunt!
Go on disprove what I’m saying.
Barcelona, Bayern Munich and today. That’s 3 games off the top of my head.
Well?
Where was he for 35 mins in that second half when we needed to get men forward?
Why do people find it so easy to round up on the usual suspects? Carrick played very well today. Apart from that mistake he bossed the first half. So, I refuse to blame him. Joe Hart miskicked sometime after that goal but Berbatov was too lazy to get after the ball when Nani got it off Zabaleta. Those are the margins here. The City keeper got away with his mistake and Carrick did not. He was good and I expect him to start on tuesday alongside Anderson and Giggs with Rooney back.
Now starts the obligatory pissing and moaning and blaming.
Carrick, Berbatov, Scholes… wipe your mouths, you lot… you’re drooling.
The team collectively were not really at it today… and once again, our poor midfiled was shown up for all to see…
Having said that, we played a decent enough team… but their man of the match made the difference… Toure.
He was fantastic today, and that’s all there is to it… we lost, but not by much, and Toure made the difference… end of…
No need for any lynchings… none of the usual suspects were any worse today, than they have been accused of for most of the season… Carrick is shit, Scholes is old and can’t tackle, Berbatov had a chance, fucked it up, but after 20 minutes, he was isolated and saw little of the ball… the real problem was, Toure… he got hold of the midfield and we had no answer.
If it makes you feel better to pick at the scab… fill your boots… but for me… we lost this game the moment Ferguson decided our midfield was up to the job.
Evans SHOULDN’T have been sent off no.
I thought Carrick did well. He was always available for the pass. He played a number of balls over there defense. There midfield overran us today. He made one mistake. I bet you were not cursing the fucker over the two legs vs Chelski.
Alf, it had fuck all to do with Toure. In that second half, we were too busy pissing about in possession and not committing men forward. We were far too slow with the ball. I said at half time that we were too pedestrian. We were even worse in the second half.
Apart from the free kick, at no other point in that second half did we look like scoring.
Naah been hanging out at the circumcision rituals of the local tribesman and passing off the foreskin to the local restaurants as onion rings.
The only good point in the game was that Utd didn’t lay back and say we’re down to 10 men so fook it.
Ohh and Rio losing it at the end….Roy Keane’s Ghost is still with us. thank fook.
*sends email to WHO about that!*
How much for a box of em?
i swear u copy my posts u cunt
Grilled or fried.
And do you want some spice added?
We had Ji Sung Park over the 2 legs. He was one of our best players v Chelsea. Him, Rooney and our defence were why we defeated them. Carrick plays one pass to Giggs and you think he is world class again? Fuck off.
2nd half today, we were struggling to get the bloody ball off them. Our midfield was completely overrun today. We never looked like scoring after City took the lead.
some of the cunts on here will curse our players regardless of their performances
I tell you what. Show me the passing stats which show he had a good game.
We were sloppy and there was next to fuck all penetration until about 10 mins left.
mid fucking field
i hate that word
alf – u don’t half talk sense at times – especially that last post
keep a calm head and take a deep breath – next game is just around the corner
lets face it – they took us in the middle – simple
aye, jizz it up for me and bri
This is what I have been saying and I hate to single out Carrick (when we were collectively bad) – but let’s not start saying he had a good game when he very clearly didn’t.
FFS
Fucking hell I’m depressed, that was truly abject. Carrick, Berbatov and Scholes were culpable, but after a performance like that so was the whole team, not one of our players can hold their head up after today and say they couldn’t have done more, it was just awful right throughout the team. To lose a semi-final is bad enough, to lose it to those small-time wannabe cunts is just unbearable, especially so because I went to the pub to watch the game and had to spend the whole time listening to a couple of gobshite old Tottenham fans talking bollocks and pretending to be City fans for the day, felt like kicking off with them (I didn’t do though). If City hadn’t been so utterly fucking spineless that could’ve easily been an embarrassing scoreline.
The only thing that can make me feel better about this is if City go on to lose the final and then, as a result of the fixture congestion, drop out of the Champions League places as well.
i never said he had a good game ffs
he made a mistake – it cost us a goal
we had 39 minutes to get something back and failed
The problem with our team sometimes is the personnel selected. When City stood off us Scholes had room to play. However, with Berbatov the midfielders are hamstrung in terms of the kind of balls they can play. He only ever wants balls to feet. That makes the midfielders’ jobs a lot harder and allows the opposition to cram us in the midfield. His lack of pace also gives those defenders the confidence to squeeze the play.
As soon as Hernandez came on we went long more and they could turn and chase it. Seriously speaking, Berbatov is a liability. he really is. There are no two ways about it. If Rooney had been fit today we would have won and Hernandez would have started.
I really do not think Toure made that much of a difference.
One game too many for Carrick and Park. They just aren’t good enough to string several good performances together. Should have gone with Anderson instead of one of them.
How Berbatov missed that chance early on I will never know. Probably laziness, he is one of the most frustrating players I’ve seen.
Again though the lack of sustained quality in the centre of the park was very apparent. Scholes and Carrick have a game in them between them, playing both in the centre for 90 mins is just asking for trouble.
Never mind the goal he scored… swap Carrick and Toure… and we win that game.
He was fantastic… best player on the pitch by a long way… so how you think he didn’t make that much of a difference, is kind of weird.
Couldn’t agree more. Our overall gameplay was impacted with Berbatov up front on his own. Which is why Fergie prefers Rooney in a 4-5-1.
Did Hernandez really need a rest today? We could’ve played Berba in the Newcastle game on Tuesday.
I frequently find myself defending Scholes and Berba when others are critical, but today neither was up to the task. I agree with Cal that Berba’s style of play is a problem in itself, quite apart from how well he is playing. He doesn’t stretch the opposition, but he doesn’t reinforce the midfield either. He needs another out-and-out forward to be effective — but that means we can only rely on him against teams that we can handle with only 2 central midfielders. His passing and linking can be sublime, but if that’s what we want, surely we’d be better off with a very creative advanced midfielder like Pastore.
The good news is that Berba’s done well enough this season that we’d get a decent price for him if we sold him; he could do very well in the Italian league, and we could maybe get more than £10M for him. Then we should invest in someone like Hulk, who has tactical flexibility, and an attacking midfielder.
Scholes should retire at the end of the season, as he seems inclined to do.
Carrick was far from our worst performer today; his mistake was a bad one, but was the culmination of bad mistakes by Rio and then VDS. I don’t think it’s fair to pick Carrick out for criticism when the whole side was lacklustre, and if anything he was probably more reliable than most of the others apart from that mistake.
Rooney is an idiot for getting himself banned for this. For all Berba’s faults he was at least out there today not sitting in the stands for not keeping his mouth shut.
Park is a lovely lad and a brilliant squad player but the role he was in today didn’t suit him and he really struggled.
Carrick is just not up to it, if he played for Sunderland or Wolves you would not look twice and he is further hampered by the fact that we really lack options when he does struggle. He made a bad mistake but made not enough of an effort to rectify it, he let Toure past him much too easily.
Scholes runs the risk of being sent off most games he plays these days, despite his class. No one can question that red card.
The only one I could see to come out with much credit was Nani who was good.
Just watched “El Clasico”…..I’m getting shivers thinking we could make it to the CL Final and face Barca or Real.
I’d definitely rather face Real. Their away form is not great, and they’re a side that can definitely be got at more easily than Barca. They’ve got stardust, but they’re far from invincible.
I think that, if any positive is to be taken out of putting in such a piss poor performance at Wembley today, it is hopefully that we will not do the same again in a few weeks’ time IF we get to the Champions League final.
This defeat will be fresh in the players’ minds for some time yet. The players will want to make up for today’s performance.
Ashley Young will fix all our midfield problems
FFS…
Both sides played well tonight but I thought Madrid could have won that game. They’ll have gained a lot of confidence from the way they played.
SAF knows that Berbatov cannot play up front as the lone striker. This has failed everytime. Was SAF playing for a draw? Should have started Owen and Hernandez up front.
Owen is an experienced striker, would have made a better impact up front, pairing with Hernandez. When I saw that Berbatov was playing up front as the lone striker, I turned my TV off and listened to the game on the radio.
Bad tactics was a factor in this game and the will to win and team spirit was missing.
Owen?turn the telly off and radio on?
am I missing something about you here?
ffs
poor performance. berba’s miss from 2 yards out and the comedy of error’s leading to their goal is what cost us the game. citeh werent that good. we were just poor where it mattered. the only good thing that can come out of this, is for citeh to lose the final and miss out on CL cause of the distraction.
Can’t defend Carrick & Berbs but what the hell was Vidic doing?? Vidic just cant defend with his feet..Nightmare defending by him in one-on-one situations..reminded me of the Champions league final when Eto’o just bamboozled him..Both Vidic & Evra seem to be making school boyish errors game after game..& they r supposd to be the seniors..
I believe yesterday can be summed up magnificently by one word:
“Fiddlesticks”
Thank you.
“Gash” was option two…
facts to all you cunts
we were never good enough for a treble
berbatov can be forgiven for missing a sitter.he cant be forgiven for being bollockless though…big game bottler
carrick was predictably wank..ffs 2 decentish games against chelsea does not make him top class after 2 full seasons of mediocrity…sorry being shite
our squad is shit, and more specifically midfield…3 world class midfielders needed..scholes should not be on fort anymore than an hour…FACT
ITS BEEN EMBARRASSING READING SOME OF THE SHIT ON HERE RECENTLY… EMBARRASSING….NO MORE OF THIS LIVERPOOL/ARSENAL/CITEH/CHELSEA MENTALITY PLEASE
we are utd ffs
Preach, brother. Preach.
By the way, I read about Rio’s and Anderson’s reaction to Balotelli trying to wind up our fans. Good to see that 2 of our players gave a shit.